Comtec Translations

Accessibility in eLearning is about more than just adding captions. It’s about ensuring every learner has an equal opportunity to engage and learn. ???? Join us for a very enlightening webinar with inclusivity expert and multi-award-winner Victoria Williams from terptree?to explore "Accessibility in eLearning: Creating inclusive learning experiences for everyone." When: Thursday, 21 November at 10 am GMT. Victoria, alongside our Emily Decker and James Brown, will share practical strategies for making eLearning accessible to all learners, including the power of sign language. Sign up at ??https://lnkd.in/e42HABFE

Feeling pressure to use AI but don’t buy the hype? We get that. Join us for a conversation with Sarah Lewis from Thread and our James Brown, who have spent the past 4 years separating fact from fiction when it comes to AI-generated copywriting and translations. Grab your spot today: https://lnkd.in/eV7ZPizN

Accented English is causing a headache for developers (and users) of AI chatbots, who can’t understand people speaking with an accent. ?? Only 1 in 4 English speakers learnt it as their first language. And according to Forbes Magazine, that means over one billion people speak English as a second language; more often than not, they do it with an accent. What a frustrating experience for so many people! This highlights the problem and makes the case for brands investing in smoother experiences for everyone and to ensure you set yourself up for stronger international growth. We couldn’t agree more! ??

You still have time to take part in our short survey re the use of AI within the translations industry. We want to learn: ?? How the use of AI is affecting our community of linguists ?? How our customers think and feel about AI ?? How the industry bodies we’re a member of are thinking about AI and the appropriate, responsible ways to use it ?? How other companies are doing it; what can we learn from them So that we can: ?? Support our linguists better ?? Take steps to minimise our environmental impact ?? Set standards within the localisation industry ?? Push for change and more transparency around AI use and impact It should take no more than 5-10 minutes. Survey link: https://lnkd.in/eb75Z65X CLOSING DATE: Friday 8th November. We’d love to hear from linguists, clients and anyone else affiliated with the world of localisation - so please do take part. Thank you in advance for your time.

Nothing says “scary” like tricky etymologies, and Halloween is no exception ?? We recently read a ghoul-tastic article from Babbel, about some spooky word origins; more than anything they can can help you understand the cultures behind the scares. We share some of their examples below: Ghost ?? The word?“ghost”?goes all the way back to the Old English?gast, but the meaning has changed a bit over the years. One of the earliest meanings of?gast?is “breath,” and another meaning equated it to the Latin?spiritus, which is where the modern word “spirit” comes from. While it certainly had otherworldly connotations,?gast?refers more to the unknown forces that create life, rather than being a spooky scary spectre. Boo ?? It’s kind of weird when you think about it, but ghosts have a catchphrase: “boo.” But it doesn’t really mean anything, and that’s because it originated as a simple result of human anatomy. It’s one of the easiest sudden sounds for the human body to make, because the “b” is formed by simply forcing air through closed lips, and the “oo” is loudly vibrating vocal cords passing through rounded lips. It’s a noise designed to scare people, and so it makes sense that it became attached to one of the scariest things we can think of. We?didn’t always yell “boo,”?though.?In the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries, the sound was written down as “bo” or “boh.” Monster ?? The word?monstre?appeared in English by the early 14th century, being borrowed from the French?monstre. The French word evolved from the Latin?monstrum, which also could refer to some sort of malformed creature. But before that, the earliest meaning of?monstrum?was “evil omen.” The shift from abstract?monstrum?to modern monsters occurred because the sight of an abnormal animal — whether that be a deer with a missing leg or some other aberration from “normal” — was a bad sign. By the late 14th century,?monstre?could refer to mythical animals like centaurs. And it was in the 1550s that a human could be a “monster,” meaning they were particularly cruel or inhumane. Spider ?? Spiders are a year-round phenomenon if you know where to look, but their webs are central enough to Halloween decorations that we thought we’d include them in this list of spooky word origins. And while animal names?tend to be consistent over time, it wasn’t until the 14th century that?“spider”?— or more accurately?spiter?or (later)?spydyr?— became the most common way to refer to these arachnids. The famed Middle English writer Geoffrey Chaucer called them?loppe, and in Old English they might have been called an?atarcoppe?(meaning “poison-head”) or a?renge?(which derives from the Latin word for arachnid,?aranea). The word “spider” was certainly around, and it derives from a Proto-Germanic word for “spinner,” but it took awhile to become the default word. What's your favourite Halloween scare word?

Are you ready for the recycling legislation changes coming in 2025? ????? We’re teaming up with RCP (Rubbermaid Commercial Products) for an engaging webinar on November 7th at 2 pm to discuss “Changes to England recycling legislation 2025: Are you ready?” Get expert insights on how these changes will impact your industry and practical tips to stay ahead of compliance. Join us on November 7th at 2pm ?? Sign up now

Are you ready for the recycling legislation changes coming in 2025? ?? As a B Corp we’re super excited to team up with our wonderful and sustainably focused client Rubbermaid Commercial Products for a green webinar at 2pm on 7th November to chat “Changes to England recycling legislation 2025: Are you ready?” Get expert insights on how these changes will impact you and your workplace with practical tips to stay ahead of compliance. And come away being super-confident when applying these simpler recycling behaviours. ?? Sign up now: https://lnkd.in/eGuh_j6W With Emily Decker Martyn Hodgkinson Ben "Bin" Clibbery

Fun cultural fact of the day: When IKEA launched in the US, Americans mistook vases for drinking glasses ?? Why? In the US, people usually add ice to their drinks, so European glasses are too small for them. This is just one way IKEA has to localise its products for local tastes. Other examples include marketing; in North China, an IKEA balcony image will show food storage (it’s common to store food on your balcony), whereas in South China, the same image would be adapted to show it as a laundry space. IKEA even conducts home visits so they can learn how people in that country live, how they use space, and what matters to them. As a language services provider, we're always intrigued by how global brands adapt to local markets. It's not just translating words; we’re translating culture and lifestyle. If you’ve been to an IKEA in a different country, have you noticed any unique local adaptations? We’d love to hear some more examples.

Building a brand that resonates across borders takes more than just a great product. It takes strategy, cultural awareness and expert localisation. We’re excited to partner with Kirsty Jarvis from Luminous PR for an upcoming webinar on International Brand Storytelling: PR and localisation strategies for global success, hosted by our James Brown. Join us to learn: ?? How to build a brand toolkit that shapes regional narratives ?? How to avoid common pitfalls when localising campaigns ?? How to align translation, PR and cultural awareness for true cross-border success ?? Tips on securing internal buy-in to a brand activation plan This will be a practical, hands-on session full of actionable insight and examples, suitable for anyone working internationally in any industry. Join us on 7th November at 10 am. Sign up now: https://lnkd.in/g_-NEWFg

Are you ready to read a very tiny number? ?? 0.000004% That’s the percentage of globally-generated content that gets translated. Per day. Mindblowing, isn’t it? ?? We got this stat from the latest CSA Research Market Sizing Update. There’s been a lot of talk lately about this report, with lots of people saying it’s a bit gloomy, particularly regarding the impact that AI is having on our industry. The CSA’s research shows that LSPs have a huge opportunity to evolve their offerings by becoming Global Content Service Providers, adding more value to end-users. They even give examples of what these value-added services could be: ?Cultural adaptation ?Content personalisation ?Content audits ?Better audio-visual adaptation ?Training and customising LLMs We began building out our cultural insights offerings well over a year ago, and now we see this as one of our fastest-growing areas of the business. ? We also agree with the CSA that brands should be able to localise as much as possible seamlessly and painlessly. That’s why we partnered with Blackbird, which allows us to integrate with pretty much any CMS and other content platforms. And this ties into our mission at Comtec - to give people fairer access to more relevant content.